IN THIS ISSUE WIRX Wet Paint 5 RESTAURANT REVIEW Fandango 7 A Dance of Seven Dishes SAve the stack A CENTURY OF SOUND GIBSON S MARK ON KALAMAZOO S MUSICAL SKYLINE 8 VINTAGE VINYL REVISITED HUMBLE PIE LIVE IN CONCERT 12 MAY MUSIC B O ARD 14 MAY 15 LOUIE S 16 SAILOR KICKS THIRD COAST FREIGHT BANDITS LITTLE AMERICAN CHAMP BEER SNOB or not 19 One Well Brewing BAND REVIEW THIRD COAST 20 SMASH TATTOO ARTIST OF THE MONTH 21 Dominic Rapson ARTIST SPOTLIGHT ARTHUR BRAUD 22 SMA SH MUSIC CO R NER 23 from the publisher P O Box 1376 Happy MAY SMASHers Battle Creek MI 49016 Summer where are you Sneaking up on the calendar but not the weather that s for sure Publisher May is huge for SMASH Magazine we venture out into all of Southwest Michigan this month to bring South Haven St Joe Benton Harbor Niles Sturgis Three Rivers and Coldwater into the family So be on the lookout for SMASH in your area smashmags com Robin Cunningham Editor Bruce Tuck Creative Director Nicholas Zastrow Writers Todd Cope Colin Smith Carrie White Gabriela E Latta Cathryn May John Barrett Advertising Robin Cunningham 269 986 3912 rates smashmags com Events and Shows In this issue SMASH is taking on the local music manufacturing business with great articles about Gibson GHS Strings and the Save The Stack movement Along with all of the great articles you are used too Let s take a moment and welcome all of Southwest Michigan to the SMASH family and get ready for the best summer ever Happy SMASHing Submit listings to events smashmags com GHS STRINGS FACTORY TOUR 24 BIKE NIGHTS IN SW MICHIGAN 26 Disclaimer SMASH Magazine is dedicated to providing a platform for artists and musicians to promote and display their work Visit smashmags com to sign up for our email list so you can always keep up with whats up smashmags com Because they have a unique way of expressing themselves it is important for people who pick up the magazine to understand you might not always like what you see There are also articles that may contain sarcasm and adult content This publication is intended for a mature audience PAGE 4 M a m t u I s f t w t s W i T c a m c O t W M W H M a H o M

BY bruce tuck Michigan is a hot bed of musical talent and it takes hard work dedication and money along with that special something to get the music to the masses and radio used to be that outlet I remember growing up where radio stations had a format but they had the freedom to play music that appealed to their individual tastes within that format which meant that you could hear music that was not backed by a label but sent directly to the radio station to play Whether the DJ decided to play it or not it was their choice That has all but gone by the wayside as corporate America has taken over the airwaves and created a money hungry machine that caters to the other big conglomerates of the record companies Only being allowed to play what is fed to them by the machine Well one radio station in Southwest Michigan has chosen to change that WIRX 107 1 out of St Joseph Benton Harbor Drew Scott Program Director and Morning Show Host came up with the idea and enlisted the help of promoter Jeffery Hill The Drew Scott Morning show has opened its airwaves every Friday from 9 MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE to 10 am to bring you the best new music from all over Michigan and maybe one or two that sneak in from Indiana and Illinois with Co hosts Schwarz Hunter and of course Jeff Hill Drew coined the phrase WET PAINT because it was fresh and new like a coat of Wet Paint much like the music they play on the program Much like the music most Morning Shows have gone to syndicated programing from corporate sponsors so there is no place for a show like Wet Paint but the owners of Mid West Family Broadcasting had the fore sight to allow a cutting edge program like Wet Paint to be broadcast during the most listened to time slot in radio Wet Paint consists of live airplay of new music for the listeners and after the song is over the radio personalities get a chance to talk about the song they heard It s not a judging or review so to speak more of a critique of the recording and sound of the band This amounts to great exposure for the bands and a chance to make new fans Another exciting aspect of the Wet Paint program is that from time to time the bands played are invited to be showcased on Wet Paint Live at one of the local music venues Not only do the bands get their music heard by thousands of listeners but they get to play in front of the fans that were able to hear them on the program This is amazing and it was an honor for Smash Magazine to participate in one of the many live broadcasts Smash Magazine wants to thank Jeff Hill Drew Scott and the entire staff at Mid West Family Broadcasting for supporting the music that made Michigan great So to sum it all up WIRX Everything that ROCK s truly does rock PAGE 5

Guidelines for submission Be Local Southwest Michigan from Southaven to Hastings South to the state line and fro Marshall to Lake Michigan Provide Smash Radio permission to play the music Send submissions in MP3 Format Provide us with your album cover art Provide us permission to allow downloads or request to not allow MAY 1ST OG s Present 2ND In the ZOO Kzoo takeover 7TH Zeta June 8TH Babz Friends 9TH Glow Party W DJ Word 15TH That Freak Quincy 16TH Otters Party Bash 21ST Ohm Town Heros 22ND Pre HYBE Bash 23RD Jelly Roll 29TH Elephant Celebees 30TH WGW Every Monday Open decks 2 You call it Every Tuesday 2 Tuesday 2 Miller Lite and Bud cans 2 Long Island s 502 South Burdick Kalamazoo MI 49007 Every Wednesday 269 388 2196 Artist Night 3 You call it Open 7 days a week To Keep Up with The Latest LIKE Papa Pete s On FACEBOOK smashmags com PAGE 6 M

A DANCE OF SEVEN BY COLIN SMITH DISHES The tapas style restaurant Fandangos brings small plates to a big crowd Tapas offers a variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine which is meant to be shared among eaters instead of chowing down on one meal And so the restaurant aptly borrows the name Fandango from a Spanish couple s dance because their meals are served in steps Fandangos tends to be a quiet restaurant and it lies on the corner of the Kalamazoo Mall Naturally like any tapas restaurant Fandangos allows the diner to taste a good chunk of the menu before the end of the night This is especially clutch for people who suffer from post ordering regret Though the dishes are small their food is filling especially after eating a round or two Their sweet and savory bacon wrapped dates drizzled in balsamic vinegar is a great starter and dishes like their Valencian rice balls feel more substantial Their rice balls are flash fried after encrusted with panko they are stuffed with short grain rice and boursin cheese then rolled in romesco sauce Regardless of what you order be sure to order plenty Share one of their salads of field greens topped off with avocados oranges and almonds Get your hands sticky with their sweet potato fries served with goat cheese and honey butter Taste the creaminess of artichoke and spinach dip served with pita chips If you do have enough room in your stomach by the end of the meal try the fudge lava round It s rich but a few mouthfuls is plenty when shared This dark chocolate cake holds a molten center of chocolate but outside the creme anglaise cools it The restaurant tends to be less pricey as Grand Rapid s San Chez and both the venue and the menu are smaller But Fandangos is still exquisite Fandango offers variety and an opportunity for a lively dinner Instead of chowing down on a sirloin steak conversation holds when sharing lollypop lamb chops and baked brie Come for a night of appetizers 2838 Portage Street Kalamazoo Monday to Saturday 10 00 am to 10 00 pm Sunday 9 00 am to 9 00 pm fandangotapasbistro com MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE PAGE 7

SOUND L SKYLINE URY OF O S MUSICA A CENT KALAMAZO N S MARK ON O GIBS All over Mid Michigan you can find signs of a proud manufacturing past a time when our neighborhoods made both music and the instruments on which it was played Jake Robinson whose hand built guitars are used by Seth Bernard among others moved his shop from Kalamazoo to Hoxeyville in 2008 He also organizes the Hoxeyville Music Festival which will host Greensky Bluegrass Luke Winslow King and a host of others this August by John Barrett Jr Wayne where it closed in 2013 Abraham Wechter now living in China still makes guitars for an exclusive clientele But the guitar name we most associate with Kalamazoo is Gibson a common choice of guitar heroes past and present You ll find Gibsons in the collections of Jeff Beck Eric Clapton Chuck Berry Billie Joe Armstrong Tommy Iommi James Hetfield and hundreds of others in virtually every genre of music Wharry Engineering in Battle Creek occupies a building that was once home to Squier maker of guitar strings for Fender and violins before that The Squier name was revived by Fender in 1983 offering among other things the Hello Kitty starter guitar but the present Squier is unrelated to the company that got its start in Battle Creek The company s ES 150 one of the first electric guitars to be mass produced was the instrument of choice for Charlie Christian the first major jazz player to use an electric Many later players from Barney Kessel to Kenny Burrell to Wes Montgomery adopted parts of Christian s style and all of them played Gibsons In Paw Paw Abraham Wechter a guitarmaker once employed by Gibson started building custom instruments for the likes of John Denver and Steve Howe of Yes In time Wechter expanded offering massproduced instruments made in Asia and handmade models from the shop in Paw Paw In 2008 the operation moved to Fort The brand was also favored by bluesmen from Robert Johnson s L 1 to Albert King who played his Flying V model upside down And you can t talk about rock n roll without the Gibson Les Paul later renamed the SG developed with the guitarist s input in the early 50s and cherished by rockers ever since As far as smashmags com DJ Verve on WIDR FM the modern age goes you can t talk guitar without mentioning Gibson and while the company moved to Nashville in 1984 its heart and innovative spirit with birthed in Kalamazoo Guitars have been made at 225 Parsons Street since 1918 the current tenant Heritage of Kalamazoo purchased much of the old Gibson equipment and uses it to this day But the story goes further than that back to a shoe store clerk named Orville Gibson and his hobby of breaking down old furniture for materials to whittle He may not have viewed it as more than a hobby but such activities greatly changed the history of the guitar and the town in which he lived Precious little is known about Orville Gibson a farmer s son born in upstate New York in 1856 Moving to Kalamazoo in the 1870 s he may have arrived with his brother Lovell Gibson whose wedding took place here in 1873 Lovell soon moved but Orville remained in the city playing guitar and mandolin in various local groups By 1885 he was working in Sprague s Shoe Store and in 1893 was a waiter in a restaurant but according to PAGE 8 M

e d f n g a d n w n s s n a Henry Dornbush a friend of Gibson s by that time he was already known by local musicians as a builder of mandolins with the guitars coming later What we know about Gibson as an instrument maker comes mostly from Henry Dornbush s The Story of Orville Gibson a 1937 article published in the Gibson company magazine Many of the same anecdotes also appear in Julius Bellson s book The Gibson Story If Dornbush s account is true Orville built his instruments with no previous training guided by instinct and love of woodworking H e would use every opportunity to carve or whittle a piece of wood finally having a little shop of his own a room about ten by twelve feet square where he carried out his ideas This shop begun in 1896 at 114 S Burdick was a one man operation at first and while assistants were hired in time things were strictly handmade with only two or three instruments being built at any time His key innovation with patent application filed in May 1996 called for mandolin bodies carved from a single piece of wood with a hollowed neck to improve tone and an arched top similar to violins This curved front soon dubbed the archtop would be a hallmark of later Gibson guitars Gibson s early instruments were quite fanciful his mandolins often had oversized sound holes and were bigger than the conventional models He also built several harp guitars where the neck of a six string was mounted to the side of the instru continued on next page MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE PAGE 9

ment augmented with a dozen or more drone strings The experimentation paid off the carved body and arched top resulted in a louder more durable mandolin a principal carried over to the guitars By 1899 he had moved to a larger shop on East Main and in 1904 years later Gibson Guitar Mandolin Manufacturing was formed by five local investors Gibson lent his name to the venture but was not a partner himself taking a salaried position as consultant Mass production which Orville Gibson had long resisted would soon make its impact in Kalamazoo The new company set up headquarters in Harrison Court the East Main shop being too small for work on this scale At first limited to mandolins in time the product line included banjos ukuleles and guitars with violins made briefly in the 40s Orville Gibson had little to do with the company after its early years plagued by various health issues he returned to New York in 1911 and died in 1918 never having seen the new factory on Parsons Street where the fast expanding company bearing his name was now located This factory built from the ground up at a cost of 20 000 was dedicated on July 20 1917 Situated near railroad tracks so materials could enter easily the plant expanded several times through the years and in time covered a full city block During the Depression the factory also made toys and in World War II made guitars and metal parts for military use The workforce in that period was mostly female as chronicled in the recent book Kalamazoo Gals After a Nashville factory was established in 1974 Gibson was less dependent on the Kalamazoo facility which from that point made acoustic models In the final years custom made instruments were built lo smashmags com cally that ended in 1984 when Gibson left the city where it started 80 years before Several former employers remained in Kalamazoo to form Heritage Guitars located in a portion of the Parsons Street Factory Building electric models patterned after classic Gibsons the small crew does their work slowly and carefully with craftsmanship that has won endorsements from Roy Clark and Kenny Burrell Located in the original 1917 portion of the factory the exterior looks much as it has for decades including the iconic smokestack with GIBSON written down its side It s used to direct heat from the building and it s the most obvious sign a guitar giant once stood in these parts For all its charm the landmark is quite weathered and clearly shows it age of nearly a hundred years The structure may be intact but it s missing bricks and appears to be leaning Wide gaps can be seen in the mortar when smoke is expelled it sometimes escapes from the sides Additionally the stack lies near a gas main and estimated restoration costs are close to a million Heritage may occupy 225 Parsons but they don t own it when I called in early January the man on the other end said he d keep the stack if it were his choice The tone in his voice let me know it wasn t its bricks to be saved Arriving at Heritage in the early afternoon the stack was intact and an open trailer lay at its base ready to catch the bricks and rubble Nearby was an idling demolition truck with no driver inside and no indication of when things might happen Across the street in the visitors parking lot some onlookers were taking pictures of the stack as I was They knew no more about the day s events than I did only that the stack was supposed to be gone at this point and yet it stood This we would learn was the first day of a lengthy reprieve When I went by Parsons Street the next day the truck and trailer were gone and the smokestack remained According to a Kalamazoo city official the demolition form had not been filled out correctly this would have to be rectified or work could not proceed As the week went by and the stack remained standing a phone call revealed that PlazaCorp has the stack inspected the upshot being that while the exterior is damaged the stack itself is structurally sound PlazaCorp is expected to announce new developments in late April and before then the stack s future is still in the air For those interested the Save the Stack page on Facebook offers news updates and many great pictures of the building and the guitars that passed through its doors Whether or not Kalamazoo s monument to the guitar reaches its 100th birthday may well be decided over the next month The present day Heritage only occupies part of the Gibson complex now known as the Kalamazoo Enterprise Center Owned by PlazaCorp Realty the site is also home to Forensic Fluids Laboratories As the owner PlazaCorp makes all decisions regarding the property and early this year applied for a demolition permit Scheduled for January 12 the plan called for the smokestack to be dismantled and PAGE 10 M

A LOOK BACK AT ROCK RECORDS YOU NEVER HEARD OR MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN BY TODD COPE The Winterland Ballroom San Francisco May 6th 1973 Built in 1928 as an ice skating rink and entertainment venue Winterland was converted to exclusive use as a music venue in 1971 by rock promoter Bill Graham and became a popular performance site for many famous rock music artists Led Zeppelin first performed Whole Lotta Love there Peter Frampton recorded segments of his mega successful live album Frampton Comes Alive there Seating 5400 Winterland was also the site of the legendary Last Waltz concert performance by The Band on Thanksgiving Day 1976 which was famously documented on film by director Martin Scorcese The Grateful Dead considered Winterland to be their home base performing there often over the years including the final concert ever at Winterland on New Years Eve 1978 79 On this night in May of 73 however Winterland was host to a performance by 4 young men from Essex England the magnificent Humble Pie Formed in 1969 Humble Pie s original lineup featured vocalist and guitarist Steve Marriott formerly of The Small Faces vocalist and guitarist Peter Frampton from The Herd former Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley and seventeen year old drummer Jerry Shirley One of the late 60 s first super groups they are remembered for such songs as I Don t Need No Doctor Natural Born Bugie and 30 Days in the Hole Steve Marriott arguably the finest blue eyed soul singer of all time was a black man trapped in a white man s body with lungs of steel and could belt out vocals and in between song banter to the audience with such power and fervor smashmags com Even though we get kicked around won t get caught with my trousers down Oh I know how you others feel cause I know it all myself Lyrics from Up Your Sleeves from In Concert King Biscuit Flower Hour Humble Pie recorded May 6 1973 released February 27 1996 Humble Pie live shows gave one the feel of attending a hard charging boogie rock gospel revival After four studio albums and a successful live album Performance Rockin the Fillmore Frampton exited the band to pursue a highly successful solo career leaving Pie to recruit guitarist Dave Clem Clempson to fill his guitar shoes Clempson did a very fine job and Humble Pie continued to thrive as a band and their live performances rocked as hard as or harder than any of their peers including Zeppelin Purple Sabbath and The WHO For this May of 73 performance the mobile recording truck for the popular live concert radio program The King Biscuit Flower Hour was backed up to the building and captured the Pie in all their sonic glory Their studio albums tended to lack the power that they were able to achieve in front of a live audience You can practically smell the reefer and anticipation in the air as the English emcee approaches the mic and announces to the crowd Beautiful people of San Francisco please welcome the world s finest Humble Pie Marriott and company instantly launch into Up Your Sleeves off their recent Eat it LP which will blow your hair back and make the fillings drop out of your teeth from the sheer bombast of the Les Paul guitars gushing through vintage Marshall amplifiers and Steve Marriott s banshee vocal wail testifying to the throng like a Pentecostal preacher foaming at the mouth The Pie perform many of their concert staples such as 4 Day Creep C mon Everybody Stone Cold Fever and the crowd participation favorite I Don t Need No Doctor They pay tribute to the Rolling Stones with their heavy duty version of Honky Tonk Woman with a dash of The WHO s Won t Get Fooled Again thrown in and enjoy paying homage to many of their heroes and peers injecting musical interludes of Cream Spoonful Blind Faith Had to Cry Today and Sly and the Family Stone We Got to Live Together and I Want to Take You Higher all over the place a T a E h to S to th te c h 1 in H le R b w in th To ko Humble Pie worshipped Ray Charles as well performing two of his songs I Believe to My Soul and Hallelujah I Love You So complete with Charles original backup singers the Blackberries formerly the Rayelettes Billie Barnum Clydie King and Venetta Fields in the house adding to the authenticity as the perfect foil and response to Steve Marriott s vocal musings Clem Clempson s guitar solo intro to I Believe to My Soul with its crescendo from soft blues to jacking up the volume on his guitar to full on shred shows that he s definitely not standing in the shadow of Peter Frampton This recording is a must listen for any rock fan Rock purists will say that their earlier live album Rockin the Fillmore was their best but I tend to give the nod to In Concert Humble Pie soldiered on through 1975 and then disbanded as Marriott went solo in 1976 They regrouped in 1980 with Bobby Tench on lead guitar and Anthony Sooty Jones on bass continued on next page PAGE 12 M

d s k t y d m e l and had minor success releasing On to Victory and Go For the Throat in 80 and 81 but the Pie was basically all done soon thereafter with Marriott forming a new solo band to go play pubs around England and drummer Jerry Shirley hooking up with former Motorhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke and former UFO bassist Pete Way to form Fastway Steve Marriott tragically died on April 20 1991 when a fire thought to have been caused by him falling asleep with a lit cigarette swept through his 16th century home in Arkesden Essex Firefighters determined that he had attempted to escape the blaze by mistakenly crawling into a closet that he thought was an exit which was where he was found He posthumously received an Ivor Novello Award in 1996 for his Outstanding Contribution to British Music and was listed in Mojo Magazine as one of the top 100 greatest singers of all time Humble Pie Live in Concert is readily available on CD and was released on German import vinyl in 2011 on Golden Core and Cargo Records This recording is the very definition of rock and roll The stuff blown speakers speeding tickets and eviction notices are made of If we put this disc in a time capsule for the aliens to discover I m surmising the anal probing situation would get significantly out of hand In the words of Steve Marriott Alright All Ryeeet Todd Cope is the guitarist for King Kooler www reverbnation com kingkooler and is currently lamenting his legacy as the forgotten Cowsill o d e e NOW OPEN MONDAYS Maes tro s Meat Pizza 21 Bes t Pizzas in Michigan thrillis t co m THIRSTY THURSDAYS 20oz Domestic Drafts 2 50 12oz PBR Bottles 1 00 White Wine Glass 3 00 Call for Food Specials EARN POINTS GET REWARDS RECEIVE 15 WHEN YOU EARN 200 POINTS t r t CONNECT WITH US FOR 25 BONUS POINTS HEARTLANDGIFTCARD COM k e t e y d za tros Piz m Maes k co faceboo 269 372 2222 MON THU 11am 9pm FRI SAT 11am 10pm SUN 4pm 8pm 6070 S 12th Street www maestros pizza com On Texas Drive in the plaza scross from Wedel s Nursery MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE PAGE 13

M Louie s will be hosting a pop punk show It s 18 and only 5 It s going to be super fun mega hype and keep you singing for weeks to come You won t want to miss out T SAILOR KICKS I The Sailor kicks are a Ska Americana band o from Grand Rapids on Parlay Party Records T Yeah I said Ska Americana The music is insanely good and the band has been gaining a lot of popularity around the area b f c n t What s so great about the Sailor Kicks is that the music they play makes you feel like wearing visors while you skateboard T 2 s For an entire generation of people awaiting the arrival of the fourth wave of ska wait no SHOW STARTS AT 9 PM IT S AN 18 EVENT THAT YOU WON T WANT TO MISS OUT ON AND FOR 5 WHY WOULD YOU i p more Not only is this the best sounds of r ska combine it s performed by a group of folks happy to see you dance like you think r a r you can smashmags com PAGE 16 M

MAY 15 AT LOUIE S BACK ROOM THIRD COAST If you like Banner Pilot The Lawrence Arms or Dear Landlord then you ll probably like Third Coast Punk from Grand Rapids The band is one that resurrects inner feelings from punk rock past Gritty vocals and catchy hooks give them a unique sound not often heard in local scenes around these parts Need I say more Fine I will LITTLE AMERICAN CHAMP FREIGHT BANDITS The Freight Bandits are a super talented group that hit the Kalamazoo music scene by storm a series of months ago In the summer of 2014 they formed as a group aiming to make a statement that being a punk rocker doesn t mean you re not a nice guy They re all super nice people They re music is poppy and punky It s kind of rocking too They re Pop Punk Rock so often and completely over it when it came to kissing ass in order to gain popularity the band burst into the scene rendering the classic definition of punk rock forever They re currently working on a new EP Wrong Place Right Time Will be released that time MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE punk that makes music that s catchier than a cold Every song off the album Worse Days is melodic and captivating from the first second of the first track to the last The group is from Lansing and has been rocking the scenes since 2010 Members from two of the three other bands playing earlier that night say that Little American Champ is their newest favoritest band Third Coast just started the summer of 2014 Tired of the styles they were hearing Little American Champ is super fun pop In all honesty the music they play is the hypest take on 90 s early 2K style skater music around town They pay homage to their favorite genre by writing original music that s easy to get lost in happy thoughts with Seriously if they weren t like 12 when the first Tony Hawk Pro Skater came out they probably would have laid down a track It s really hard to describe exactly what makes them so great and unique without dumping a bunch of clich s but they are definitely very good and will make you dance and smile all night long PAGE 17

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THE NON BEER SNOBS GUIDE TO LOCAL CRAFT BEER BY BRUCE TUCK With the onslaught of micro breweries and tap houses popping up all over the country and Southwest Michigan having some of the best it is fitting that we bring you our monthly review of some of local flavor If you are a beer snob you may not want to read this it may not give you an in depth perspective of each ingredient and how it pairs with the others but it will give you a perspective from your average beer drinker MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE One of the newest Craft Breweries in Kalamazoo is One Well Brewing nestled in the old Brewster s site on Portage Rd as featured in our January Issue 16 Breweries in Five Days After tasting every offering available for One Well I found that the jalapeno infused Opener called Xalapa is one of my favorites in the area Start with a refreshing sit on the front porch on a hot summer day Opener Blonde that isn t hoppy it doesn t bite and it doesn t weigh you down Infuse that with the full earthy flavor of jalapeno minus the seeds and heat and you get a light yet flavorful brew that begs to be enjoyed next to the pool or at the backyard BBQ While I am no beer snob nor do I claim to know what pairs best with a beer I can totally see drinking Xalapa with a slab of smoked dry rub ribs and a big ole basket of tortilla chips and spicy salsa So stop on down to One Well Brewery taste the flavors and DRINK WELL SMASHers 4213 Portage Street Kalamazoo ONEWELLBREWING COM PAGE 19

It blew the three boys away when they re entered the southwest music scene again after years of being disassociated It was at this point that Ian DeShong Tyler Espick and Dustin Ritsema who when united become the power pop punk group Third Coast decided it was time to play shows again Third Coast has since taken the southwest local music scenes by storm with their catchy tunes and rugged spirit After months of hard work they re going to release their first EP Wrong Place Right Time on May 15th at Louie s Trophy House The music is a sensation that sends most millennials into a frenzy because of its likeness to the amazing artists they grew up with Ironically enough this was how the band pretty much formed Truthfully the project was originally intended to be a part time thing said DeShong All three members of the band hold day jobs We were very cognitive of our place and where we belonged in the music scene Espick the bassist and vocalist in Third Coast shared a very similar taste to music as DeShong the guitarist and vocalist They had played music together before and formed a bond over this fact Anytime one would find a new song or be reminded that a song that they had always loved the other would almost always agree and have input Finally the day came when they no longer wanted to simply listen to the music they enjoyed but in the summer of 2014 the two started making it themselves We ve been joking that we re trying to collect all the great bands that we been seeing around so hopefully we can play shows with them in the future DeShong expressed excitedly as he described their reasons for jumping back into shows On May 15 Third Coast will be releasing their first LP Wrong Place Right Time At Louie s The show will also feature Little American Champ from Lansing The Freight Bandits from Kalamazoo and The Sailor Kicks from Grand Rapids All bands that Third Coast says are their current favorite bands DeShong said their goal is to write fun music that people enjoy The new album is about to drop and they re already writing more Third Coast is excited to see how far they can take this CD RELEASE MAY 15 facebook com thirdcoastpunk LOUIES thirdcoastpunk tumblr com DeShong said that they were trying to recapture the best aspects of their favorite genres with their new songs He said all three members write songs and work really well with each other DeShong said he likes many aspects of pop music that stretched from radio pop to country but had been in primarily hardcore bands F a M H o c g D b t w h b d A w b M b p The music is reminiscent of bands like Banner Pilot or Hot Water Music Espick has a gravelly voice that carries the intensity of the songs through choruses that are easy to sing along with The drums and the guitar are fun and poppy yet raw and punk with the clear intention of getting people dancing smashmags com I t t m t 5 d S S R i PAGE 20 M

t e r t m m e w s k m By Carrie White Dominic Rapson Inspired by my own tattoo fetish and the desire to be fully aware of all the many tattoo artists in the area I decided to start a tattoo artists segment Featuring a new artist every month and to shake it up I will also ask them for their last 5 tattoo s Big or small good or bad that s the deal It has to be the last 5 For the very first of the series I went to see an artist named Dominic Rapson owner of Dark Muse Designs on Capital Ave in Battle Creek He was recommended to me by quite a lot of people including a few strangers that just came up to me and started talking ink at the grocery store Dominic started off in 1991 doing piercings back when every girl didn t have her belly button pierced and the techniques and equipment weren t readily available Dominic explained how when he started he made his own jewelry by hand and also made a lot of his own needles There just weren t many people doing it After mastering the piercing craft and while working in Pittsburgh Dominic was approached by Matt Stone from In The Blood Tattoo shop Matt asked Dominic to teach him his skills and be a mentor in exchange for his own tattoo apprenticeship Soon after Matt and Dominic both moved to Savanah and continued their partnership at Resurrection Ink By 2006 Dominic was tattooing on the public MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE Dominic s second apprenticeship came from another artist at the shop in Savanah Dooz who taught Dominic everything traditional including the history of tattooing and the art of building your own machines From there Dominic hooked up with Frankie Lambough His contribution to Dominic s skill was teaching him everything about realism soft shading and details Pretty much the opposite of traditional Dominic said with no hard lines Finally as with a lot of us in life Dominic ended up back in Battle Creek with his family His Dad John Rapson and Grandfather William James Rapson both worked for Post and his grandfather also owned the WJR Tourist Lounge So back to his roots he came and opened his own tattoo shop right here in Battle Creek Dominic has been offering a special to anyone who wants to come in on a school night He will do an appointment from 5 to 9 for just 100 bucks You can either hit him up on Facebook at www facebook com DarkMuseDesignsTattoos or visit the shop at 492 Capital Ave SW Battle Creek MI 49015 269 883 6835 PAGE 21

ARTHUR BRAUD BY GABRIELA E LATTA Check out more of Arthur Braud s work on his website www arthurmbraud com On a stark white sheet of 3ft by 6ft paper a harrowing fragile face tilts towards viewers The large emerald eyes suspiciously peer out at viewers passing by The mouth in stark contrast blurs into the rest of her face dramatically silencing the portrait Drips of watercolor glide down from the girl s chin and neck where the young woman s body should be This piece titled Speak for Yourself was created by Western Michigan University WMU senior Arthur Braud His most recent series focuses on capturing the dynamic of human identity and emotion I am just trying to really play with identity and eliminating identities he said Eliminating things that make us or give us our identity like hair realistic eye colors and flesh tones and see what that brings to the table Bringing the portrait down to the basic elements of human features Braud has created images that bring to life human emotions in a strikingly lurid form smashmags com One of the most notable features in Braud s works is the tone and colors Braud experiments with different color combinations to capture the right essence of the human flesh for his images A lot of times I start with replicating what I see in a photograph and then it just develops and I don t know where it s going Even the flesh less tone I give it came from that experimentation and these cool colors for the skin just helped me portray the emotions so much better Using close friends and observing portraits online Braud creates a poignant experience for viewers He explains the way he tries to express the being of each model The model will be someone I m very close with so a lot of the times I take in to consideration their past said Braud Referring to the subject of Speak for Yourself he adds She s always struggled with really saying what she felt or naturally being herself in front of people which is why he portrayed her as if her mouth was slightly decaying disabling her ability to talk With each delicate depiction Braud confronts human frailty but in doing so he also brings viewers together in a shared experience With my work there is this emotional attachment of myself and of the experiences I ve gone through that lies within them I am able to connect with them and people view them more as people rather than paintings he said Braud hopes to expand this theme of eliminating identity and focusing on emotions into an endless series I just began to realize what exactly I was doing or what I was trying to do with my work he said Now I m moving more into this idea of identity and eliminating the identity and creating these pieces that combine multiple people who appear to share similar feelings PAGE 22 M

GENRE POP ROCK IMAGINE DRAGONS SMOKE MIRRORS RELEASE DATE FEBRUARY 2015 WWW IMAGINEDRAGONSMUSIC COM GENRE INDIE ROCK MODEST MOUSE STRANGERS TO OURSELVES RELEASE DATE MARCH 2015 MODESTMOUSE COM Smoke Mirrors is the second studio album by Strangers to Ourselves is the sixth album by American rock band Imagine Dragons The album American alternative rock band Modest Mouse was recorded during 2014 at the band s home studio which was released on March 17 2015 two in Las Vegas Nevada Self produced by members weeks after its initially announced release date of of the band along with English hip hop producer March 3 The album was leaked to the internet Alexander Grant known by his moniker Alex da Kid on March 7 2015 On March 16 2015 the day the album was released by Interscope Records and Grant s KIDinaKORNER label on February 17 2015 in before the album s official release date Strangers to Ourselves was prematurely made available for the United States download on Amazon com free for Prime and The album debuted at number one on the Billboard the iTunes Store 200 in the United States moving more than 172 000 units and also debuted at number one on the UK Al It is the band s first studio album since We Were bums Chart and the Canadian Albums Chart Three Dead Before the Ship Even Sank released in 2007 official singles have been released from the album marking the longest gap between studio albums I Bet My Life was released as the lead single from Smoke and Mirrors and debuted at number 15 on the Canadian Hot 100 number 27 on the UK Singles Chart and 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 It also topped the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs a first for the band The band performed the song live on American Music Awards 2014 Good Morning America 2015 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2015 VH1 s Big Morning Buzz Live 2015 Gold was released as the second single from Smoke and Mirrors Shots was released as the third single from Smoke and Mirrors and debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 The band performed the song live during the Grammy Awards 2015 a first ever live commercial performance directed by Jonas kerlund They also performed the song live on Good Morning America 2015 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 2015 and The Howard Stern Show 2015 MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE GENRE POP SOUL SHAWN MENDES HANDWRITTEN RELEASE DATE APRIL 2015 WWW SHAWNMENDESOFFICIAL COM Handwritten is the debut album by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes and was released on April 14 2015 by Island It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 119 000 copies After signing a record deal with Island Records in June 2014 Mendes released his debut single Life of the Party which peaked at number twenty four on the US Billboard Hot 100 Following the single release an EP titled The Shawn Mendes EP was released on July 28 2014 and sold 48 000 copies in its first week Mendes announced its debut album title and artwork on January 27 2015 and it was made available to pre order on February 2 2015 in their career Modest Mouse actually recorded two albums worth of material in their sessions though the second album still has several songs Life of the Party was released as the lead sinincomplete gle from Mendes debut EP The Shawn Mendes The album s cover features an aerial image of Ven EP on June 25 2014 The song serves as the first single from Handwritten as well A one shot lyric ture Out RV Resort located in Mesa Arizona video for the song showing Mendes in the George The first single from the album Lampshades on Street diner premiered on Vevo on June 30 2014 Fire was made available on December 15 2014 The official music video for the song premiered on for streaming and digital download Another song March 10 2015 from the album Coyotes was made available for download on January 20 2015 The third song Something Big was released as the album s to be made available The Best Room was re second single on November 7 2014 The official leased on February 3 2015 alongside the album s music video for the song premiered on November track listing A fourth track from the album The 11 2014 on Vevo and it is Mendes first official Ground Walks with Time in a Box was released music video on February 16 2015 On March 3 a fifth song from the album was released the album s final Stitches will be released as the album s third single on May 5 2015 track Of Course We Know PAGE 23

GHS Strings Battle Creek by bruce tuck GHS began manufacturing guitar strings in 1964 The name of the company is taken from the initials of the original founders Gould Holcomb and Solko In 1975 the company was purchased by labor attorney entrepreneur Robert McFee who still serves as the Chairman of the Board of the family owned company McFee s son Russ currently serves as President The company celebrated its 50th Anniversary this past August at the corporate headquarters still based in Battle Creek GHS employs over 100 very talented people at the corporate headquarters and their satellite factory in South Bend Indiana A String for every instrument is the motto at GHS while they still do not cover classical instruments except for the recently added NS Upright the rest of the stringed instrument world is in tune with GHS From Mandolin s to Banjo s Classical Guitars to the almighty Bass there is a string to meet your needs The first guitar strings were the Nickle Rocker and the Boomers were not introduced until the 70 s Like other string companies GHS makes what are called Private Label sets which are strings made and packaged for another company This can be as simple as repackaging strings they already make or it can be as complex as adhering to a different set of specifications Custom builders often offer GHS strings as a bonus to their customers but it is based on their individual tastes smashmags com GHS has always been generous with endorsements as it is a great way to advertise and showcase their product Some Nationally known bands such as Rancid have been using GHS strings for over 20 years but even the smaller touring bands have benefitted from their generosity Jonathan Moody Social Media Manager and Product Development at GHS said that the regional touring bands are chosen based on their visibility on Social Media which has become the standard for bands to promote shows and their general day to day activities It s that Social Media intensity that draws GHS to the bands and in effect is their way of choosing what bands they will approach Jonathan Moody who has been with GHS for 2 years as well as a fixture in the Southwest Michigan Music Scene also endorsed by GHS prior to his joining the team took me on a tour of the Battle Creek Facility GHS strings have 3 main components The core wire Ball end and the cover wire while the mandolin and banjo do not use a ball end most other applications do Air powered machinery plays a big role in the manufacture of every string made and they utilize air compressors manufactured by a company owned by GHS With the machinery being very specialized GHS has their own onsite engineers who handle fabrication and repair of the equipment The core wire is placed in the machine and spun at a high rate of speed which pulls the cover wire around the core Each machine operator feeds the wire and manually finishes each one Bass wires are the exception as there is more hands on work to be done on larger equipment The silk covered ends of a bass string are color coded for each individual brand The silk covering protects the tuner from wear and also locks the string into the tuner Base strings are also comprised of more than one cover wire wound in alternating directions to help lock in the cover wire During the process of creating the strings there is a strict quality control process that is adhered to where random samples are tested to maintain the high standards required by GHS and their clients Once tested and any deficiency is found engineers work to calibrate the computers that control the machines You may wonder how packaging of the strings is done since strings are all wound individually in separate packages Well each string at GHS is hand coiled to precisely fit in the standard sized envelopes Each technician coils individual strings then they are fed into a machine that wraps the string in a vinyl pouch heat seals and nitrogen injects the packaging to prolong the life of the string as well as prevent corrosion Once that process is completed the vinyl pouch is hand collated while other strings without the vinyl pouch are collated and boxed with a machine fabricated for the process PAGE 24 A s p t d C f b a c v M

Another aspect of packaging is bulk this is where strings of like styles are bundled together Certain artists like Peanut from 311 prefer to use the packaged product while other national acts find the bulk packaging to be faster and more efficient when issues arise during a performance Confusing as this may sound the entire operation is amazing and from warehouse to instrument it is truly a sight to behold Local businesses like GHS are a testament to what made in America is all about cooperating with local instrument manufacturers to make a complete package for those that desire the quality that GHS provides MAY 2015 THE GIBSON ISSUE While GHS specializes and focuses on strings they have also bought out Rockton in the early 2000 s to offer effect pedals to their consumers The addition of the Valvesonic and Valvesonic Plexi Amps and PreAmps are coming this year iterating every aspect of the classic tubestyle Marshall Amps which adds to the value of the products they offer I want to personally thank Jonathan Moody and GHS for opening their doors to SMASH Magazine Thank you for all you do PAGE 25